Hilma & Wille Momark

Hilma & Wille, Blankaholm

Blankaholm is beautifully located along the east coast, right on the border between southern Tjust and Misterhult's archipelago. In the 1970s, just over 300 people lived here, but after the town's major employer ”The Saw” closed down in 1979, the population curve has steadily pointed downwards. At least until now. Something is indeed happening, Blankaholm has awakened from its slumber and started to bloom again. Two people who are very much contributing to the positive development of the community are the passionate individuals and entrepreneurs Hilma and Wille Momark, owners of Blankaholm's Guest Harbor and Blankaholm's General Store.

The journey quietly started back in 2004 when Wille heard that the general store would be closed down. Well aware of how important it is to have a shop in the village, he decided to do something about it and took over the operation himself. He continued to run the store all the way until 2011, when Hilma enters this story. 2011 was also the year when the couple met and the winds took them to Grythyttan, where Hilma would study. After completing her studies, the next stop on the way was Linköping, where they lived a city life until the birth of their first child in 2019. Here, a longing back to the countryside began to grow stronger and stronger. Hilma and Wille felt that Linköping was not quite a place where they wanted their children to grow up. They wanted to return to forest and sea, a calmer and safer place, where everything is close. Thus, they found their dream house in Blankaholm and in 2019, the move to the new home took place. The same year, they got the chance to take over the lease of the guest harbor and that is when the story begins about how Blankaholm's guest harbor goes from ”with improvement potential” to being one of Sweden's most popular destinations for motorhome tourists by 2023.

In 2021, the couple bought the guest harbor completely, and it was also then that they had the opportunity to really start renovating and investing in the business. What started with simple ice cream sales has over the years grown into a real tourist destination with cabin rentals, guest harbor spots, parking spaces for motorhomes and caravans, kayak and boat rentals, an ice cream café, and serving with full rights - and the ability to employ 13 summer workers. As if that wasn't enough, they also took over the general store in April this year, and by next summer they will open a flea market. There is definitely no shortage of energy, drive, and faith in the future in the Momark household.

Hilma and Wille truly believe in their locality and its future. I ask them to describe what the best thing is about living in Blankaholm. The first thing Wille mentions is that there is a preschool and a sports hall, something that weighed very heavily for him and Hilma when they made the decision to move there. With three small children in the family, it is an important parameter. Besides that, it is of course the people who live here, he continues. It is a good, family-friendly environment and there is always someone passing by who wants to chat a bit down by the docks or in the store. Hilma agrees and adds that she thinks the quality of life is higher here. Most of what you need is available, you have close access to nature and the archipelago, and it is calm and pleasant. Moreover, Blankaholm is geographically perfectly located with proximity to the E22 and opportunities for easy commuting to cities like Oskarshamn, Vimmerby, and Västervik. Both agree that Blankaholm is a rough diamond and that more people should take the chance and move here.

Read more about Blankaholm's Guest Harbor and General Store here: Blankaholm Guest Harbor and General Store 

Text and image: Jenny Svendsby